


My Perfect Sunday Morning

by Cydersyrup



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drunken Shenanigans, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Hangover, Lee Taeyong is a Good Friend, M/M, Minor Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, One-Sided Attraction, Partying, Platonic Relationships, Swearing, Taeyong and Taeil are the sober mom friends, Taeyong is suffering, Underage Drinking, Vomiting, but all in good fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22400017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cydersyrup/pseuds/Cydersyrup
Summary: Taeyong isn't BORING. He's RESPONSIBLE. And he really, really should start charging people for every time he has to clean up after their drunk asses.In short, life would be so much easier if his friends aren't all slowly becoming alcoholics.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	My Perfect Sunday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for some cute fluffy friendships so here it is~~~  
> There are mentions of vomiting, so just a heads-up in case this is trigger-sensitive to some.  
> Anyhoo, enjoy!!!

Taeyong thinks, as he’s leaning over the sink brushing his teeth, that this moment pretty much sums up that “there’s two types of people” meme.

It’s 10 PM on a Saturday night, and Taeyong already feels bone-tired even though all he did today is study, work out, then study some more. He didn’t even wake up early, and he didn’t drink coffee either, which was already unusual enough in itself.

So why the discrepancy?

To his left, standing before the other sink in the shared suite bathroom, is Taeyong’s best friend and not-so-subtle crush, Jaehyun, ruffling his hair and adjusting his navy button-down. He has a light smokey eye done and his shirt is tucked into a pair of severely-ripped jeans that Taeyong had picked out when they went Black Friday shopping together.

Jaehyun—sweet, kind, gentle Jaehyun—getting ready to go partying with some of their mutual friends on a Saturday night at 10 PM while Taeyong is standing in his pajamas and getting ready for a night in and some adequate rest.

“Do you think I look okay?” Jaehyun asks, doing a little spin with his arms outstretched. “It’s not too much, is it?”

Taeyong looks over Jaehyun and tries his damnest to not stare for too long. “No, you look fine.”

“This shirt doesn’t make me look fat?” Jaehyun jokes, tugging at the loose bit around his waist.

“Nope.” Taeyong shakes his head and lets his eyes run down the length of Jaehyun’s form, from his soft black hair to his slightly-battered gray Vans. The navy shirt is a little big, but Jaehyun wore it with the top three buttons undone and the bottom tucked in, so it hangs gracefully off his fit frame. The opening shows off the pale skin Jaehyun hides from the sun as well as the beautiful calligraphy tattoo he has right under his collarbone. The jeans hug his legs and make them seem to stretch on forever. Taeyong has a sudden urge to just hug Jaehyun around the legs like a koala and never let go. 

“Yong, I get that I’m hot, but you’re making me blush.”

“Huh?” Taeyong realizes just then that he’s been staring, but he’s too tired and he’s known Jaehyun for too long to feel embarrassed. From the knowing smirk on Jaehyun’s face, he understands that the feeling’s mutual. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

Jaehyun smiles. “It’s all good. You got any plans for tonight?”

“Nah, just gonna stay in, read a little, do some skincare, whatever.”

“Oh, cool.” Jaehyun grabs his phone off the countertop and slides it into his pocket. “Maybe if I come back early enough I’ll join you.”

“Who’re you going with again?”

“Just Johnny and the boys.”

Taeyong narrows his eyes. The last time Jaehyun went out with their friends to a party, Yuta got hospitalized for alcohol poisoning and Mark had a panic attack. It’s one of the reasons why Taeyong himself doesn’t drink anymore. That, and the fact that he fell in the shower when he was tipsy once and it _hurt_.

“Who’s gonna be watching over you guys?”

Jaehyun thinks for a moment. “Well, you know Mark doesn’t drink, and Doyoung has great self-control.”

“Be careful,” Taeyong warns, pointing his toothbrush threateningly at Jaehyun. The absolute last thing he wants at the moment is for his friends to come home drunk off their asses and vomiting up all over the bathroom floor. “Don’t go nuts on the booze, you hear me?”

“I’ll be careful, don’t worry,” Jaehyun assures with a salute. “I promise I won’t get carried away and I’ll make sure the others won’t get shit-faced.”

“Okay, if you need me for anything you have my number.”

“I know, Yong.” Jaehyun walks up and wraps him in a hug. Taeyong hugs back, smelling Jaehyun’s cologne and feeling his solid body in his arms. It’s such a simple act, and they’ve hugged countless times before, but it still hits different because it’s Jaehyun.

Taeyong pulls away first, holding Jaehyun at shoulder’s distance and looking him in the eye. “Come home safe, okay? Take care of our boys. Have fun.”

“Of course.” Jaehyun pats Taeyong’s arms and turns to the door. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Taeyong watches him leave, before turning off the lights to the bathroom and wandering back into his dorm. His roommate Jungwoo left earlier for a date with his boyfriend, so it’s just Taeyong staying in tonight. Not that he minded much, because now that there’s nobody to be considerate for, Taeyong blasts his playlist as loud as he likes, and sings along to the songs as he pulls out his collection of skincare products.

School is usually so busy during the weekdays that Taeyong barely sees any of his friends outside of class, except for dinnertime and maybe at the gym. Okay, so maybe it’s self-imposed exile because he decided to take six classes and a lab on top of weekly clinicals in one go, but what can he say? He’s ambitious.  
  
_‘Boring,’_ his brain supplies.  
  
“Sane,” Taeyong corrects. “Somebody’s gotta stay sober to help those idiots when they come back.”  
  
_‘If they come back at all.’_

“They better come back if they know what’s good for them.”

_‘Please, you cry at the sight of newborn kittens. You’re not scary.’_

“I’ve been told otherwise.”

 _‘That’s called a resting bitch face, sweetheart. You can’t hurt a fly even if you tried to.’_  
  
Taeyong heaves a sigh. This is really what his life has come down to—having a conversation with his own consciousness alone in his room on a Saturday night, when everyone else is out partying or whatever it is that college kids are supposed to do.  
  
_‘What a whole new level of pathetic.’_

Taeyong ignores the little voice in his head and goes about the extensive skincare routine he reserves only for the weekends in peace.

Cleanse.

Exfoliate.

Mask.

Air dry.

Tone.

Moisturize.

By the time he finishes, it’s half past eleven. Jaehyun still hasn’t come back yet, and nobody bothered to contact him about anything, so Taeyong assumes that either everything’s going fine and they’re all having fun, or they’re all dead in a ditch somewhere.

Hopefully the first one.

He really hopes it’s the first one.

A knock on his door draws his attention away from the disturbing thoughts, and Taeyong goes to answer it.

“Taeil!” Taeyong grins at the sight of the shorter man once he opens the door. “Hey, how’ve you been?”

“Fine, just bored.” Taeil returns the grin and Taeyong steps aside to let him in. The senior is also dressed comfortably in sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. “I thought you’d enjoy some company from a fellow bored, lonely, sane human being.”

He’s right. Taeyong is bored and lonely. “Would you like a drink?” he offers. “I’ve got snacks, too.”

Taeil makes himself comfortable on Jungwoo’s chair. “No, thanks. I just came to talk.” He leans forward a little, eyes shining with glee. “I’ve got tea, dude.”

Taeyong sits down at his own chair and crosses his legs. “Spill.”

They talk for hours while soft piano music plays in the background, and true to his word, Taeil spills all the juicy gossip he’s heard over the week. Taeyong doesn’t care much for the people involved, but he enjoys the company and it’s nice to just unwind and talk to someone after barely seeing another human being all week.

“I mean, when is Mark gonna ask Donghyuck out?” Taeil groans. “I’m going gray just watching them dance around each other. The sexual tension is killing me more than my classes.”

“You poor thing.” Taeyong runs a hand through Taeil’s hair, noticing that there are quite a few white and gray strands hidden beneath his brown locks. If his work as a nursing student is hard, then Taeil’s pre-med track is downright suicidal. The poor man looks like he hasn’t slept properly for a year, if the dark circles hanging under his eyes are any indication.

Just when Taeil is about to go off on another hour-long rant about how badly people in their friend group need to start dating, Taeyong’s phone goes off.

Taeil looks up. “Who is it?"

Taeyong frowns and checks his notifications. 

**[Johnny FREAKING Seo]**

_Yo, Yongs._

_We headed back rn_

_Do us a solid and let us crash for a bit, will ya?_

“It’s Johnny. He says they’re coming back to the dorms.”

“Jeez, what time is it?”

“2:30.”

“Are they drunk?”

“Most likely.”

“Well, where are they right now?”

“Coming up,” Taeyong replies, reading off the long string of texts Johnny sent him. “I’d start getting a bucket if I were you.”

* * *

“Wassup ma fuckas!”

Taeyong yelps as a very drunk Yuta bursts in through the door and all but falls into his arms. “Yongie!” Yuta looks up at him in an alcohol-induced wonder, his body dead weight in Taeyong’s hold. “How come you’re so pretty? Why’re you so pretty, Yongie? Why don’t you date me?”

Taeyong gags internally at the stench of alcohol on Yuta’s breath. “Okay, Yuta. You’re drunk. Let’s get you some water.”

“I dun need water, I need you…” Yuta breaks off and starts singing an awful rendition of Mariah Carey. “Alllll I waaaant for Christmaaaaaassss—”

“IS YOU!!!!” Mark and Doyoung chorus, before exchanging an uncoordinated hi-five that ended up with them both just slapping each other in the face.

_‘Doesn’t drink and great self-control, my ass.’_

Taeyong feels a headache starting to form as he sets Yuta down on the nearest chair. “Okay, where’s Jaehyun?”

“You rang?” A sober-looking Johnny stumbles into the room, holding a very intoxicated Jaehyun against him. His face absolutely lights up when he sees Taeyong and it’s positively unnerving in Taeyong’s current state of mind. 

“Oh hey, Taeyong!”

“Johnny, what—”

“Taeyooooonnnnggg,” Jaehyun slurs, flashing Taeyong a smile. “Heeeeyyyyyy….”

Taeyong literally feels his heart stop when Jaehyun hiccups and nearly falls flat on his face the moment Johnny loosens his hold. Luckily, Taeil has fast reflexes and pulls up the other chair before Jaehyun could kiss the floor. 

“Oops, sorry.” Johnny doesn’t look sorry at all. “But hey, how’ve you been?”

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me, Johnny Seo! I demand an explanation!” Taeyong storms up to his taller friend and pushes against his chest. It does no good besides hurting Taeyong’s palms, because Johnny is built like a fucking brick wall. “What the fuck?! You can’t just come home with the squad wasted and bring them all here!”

Johnny pouts. “I texted you, though.”

“That’s not an excuse!” Somewhere in the back, Yuta whines about feeling queasy, and Taeil sprints over with a trash bag in hand. Taeyong hears the vomiting before he sees it, and his headache only grows when Mark starts screaming “EEEEEEWWWWW” at the top of his lungs.

_'Some biology major he is.'_

“How the hell did you even get back here?” Taeyong glares at Johnny, hoping he could just burn a hole through his head. Under any other circumstances, he might have pulled Johnny aside to talk in private, but his friends are making a ruckus and Taeyong kind of didn’t want the RA to barge in the moment he opened the door and get them all fucked.

“We drove back.”

“You drove?! While you’re all drunk off your asses—”

“Hey, calm down, Yong. I’m sober.” Johnny gestures at his face. “See? No asian glow. I’m fine.”

“What the fuck, Johnny? Why didn’t you look after them?”

“The guys wanted to have a little fun,” Johnny replies with an easy smile. “Who am I to stop them?”

“Oh, you—” Taeyong stops himself before he could say something regrettable and turns to see Mark braiding Jaehyun’s shoelaces together and Doyoung batting at the swollen bottom of Yuta’s puke bag like it was some sort of punching bag, while the Japanese man continues to barf into it. Taeil is standing behind Yuta, a water bottle in one hand and the other rubbing circles on Yuta’s back. He meets Taeyong’s gaze and shrugs helplessly.

“Okay.” Taeyong rubs his temples. “Everyone, out. Out of my fucking room. Like, right now.”

“But we just got here,” Mark whines, crawling over to nuzzle his face against Taeyong’s leg like he was a goddamn cat. “Let us stay, Yongie, please.”

“No. Out. Now.”

Doyoung looks over. “But Tae—”

“I said out!”

Johnny sighs. “Look, Yong—”

“No, fuck you, Johnny! Take these assholes and get out!” Taeyong pulls Mark up by the scruff and yanks Doyoung over by the ear.

“OW! Ow ow ow ow ow ow!”

Taeyong ignores their pained protests and throws them at Johnny with all the hatred and anger he can muster. Taeil comes over right after, gently guiding Yuta by the arm. 

“Out! NOW!”

“Okay, we’re going!” Johnny rolls his eyes as he leads his drunken posse out the door. From where he sits, Jaehyun gets up and starts to follow, before Taeyong grabs him by the arm and pulls him back.

“You stay here.”

“Huh?” Jaehyun looks at Taeyong confusedly and then at the door. “But you told us to leave.”

Taeyong reminds himself that he loves Jaehyun, and because he loves Jaehyun, slapping him would be a pretty shitty move. “You live here, idiot.”

“I do?”

“Yes, Jaehyun. You live in the room next door.”

“Oh.” A dopey smiles stretches across Jaehyun’s face. “Cool. So does Mark.”

“Yes, you’re roommates.”

“That’s fucking liiiiiiiiiiittttttt.”

“Please, just go take a shower and go to bed, okay?” Taeyong helps steady Jaehyun as the latter stumbles into the bathroom.

“Yeah, yeah, mom. I got it.” Jaehyun hiccups and giggles. “I totally got it.”

“Right.” Taeyong looks down and frowns. “Jae.”

“Huh?”

“Why’re your shoes wet?”

Jaehyun looks down, and his eyes widen like it’s the first time he’s seen his Vans soaked completely through, to the extent that the gray is nearing a shade of black.

“Holy shit.”

“Take them off. I’ll take care of it.” 

Taeyong regrets the offer the moment he says it, but it’s too late to take it back. Jaehyun looks at him with his eyes wide, before obediently untying his shoes and slipping them off. He hands them over to Taeyong, who takes them gingerly by the laces.

“You’re so nice to me, Yongie,” Jaehyung giggles as he hops in place. “You take such good care of me.”

“I know.”

Jaehyun giggles some more, before throwing his arms around Taeyong’s neck and planting a fat, wet kiss on his cheek. “Why can’t I just date you, Yongie? You’re like, perfect boyfriend material.”

_‘I don’t know either, why won’t you date me?’_

“You rejected me in sophomore year, remember?”

Jaehyun frowns confusedly. “Why would I do that?”

“It’s a long story, and you won’t remember anyways, so go shower.” Taeyong’s glad Jaehyun’s too drunk to notice how sad it made him to explain all of this. “Maybe if you sober up later, you’ll remember.”

“Yessir,” Jaehyun slurs, giving him a wobbly salute and sauntering back to his room.  
  
Taeyong pinches his nose with one hand as the other lifts the soaking wet pair of shoes. He has no idea what Jaehyun did to get his shoes that wet, but not only were they wet, but they REEKED. 

“What the hell did he do? Jump into a puddle for the hell of it?” he grumbles to himself as he sets the shoes under the sink. It’s too late in the night to deal with this. All Taeyong wants to do now is faceplant into his bed and sleep until next year.

“You alright?” Taeil pokes his head in, smiling sympathetically. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Taeyong sobs hysterically on the inside. He doesn’t deserve Taeil. That man is too kind for his own good. 

“Do you happen to know how to wash a shoe?”

“Sure. Just take some soap and a brush, and maybe a high-power blow-dryer if you have one.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

So that is how on Sunday morning, Taeyong wakes up at 9 o’clock after barely six hours of sleep to take Jaehyun’s shoes into the laundry room for a good washing. And Taeil—bless his heart—agrees to help.

“Y’know, the soap we brought is no match for this level of disgusting,” Taeil groans as he takes the shoes’ sodden laces and began soaping them up. “Thank the Lord you brought gloves.”

“I should get paid for this,” Taeyong grumbles as he scrubs the dirt off the fabric of the shoes with a tile brush. “I should’ve gone with Jae. Damn it.”

“Well, I don’t think he’ll be doing anything like that again, considering the bitchin’ hangover he’s bound to suffer today,” Taeil assures. “Don’t worry too much about him.”

“Excuse me, do you remember what happened last night?” Taeyong says defensively. “Johnny would’ve let them all drink themselves to an early grave.”

“C’mon, it’s not that bad—”

“And remember freshman year when Yuta passed out on someone’s lawn and Johnny got himself hospitalized for alcohol poisoning?”

“Okay, that was like, one time—”

“And sophomore year when someone tried to date rape Jaehyun but luckily—and this is the only time you’ll hear me say this—Yuta was wasted enough to accidentally spill the drink over when he tried to make out with Jaehyun?”

“So maybe it got a _little_ out of hand—”

“Then earlier this year Mark and I had to run around campus trying to find half the group ‘cause everyone else was half past wasted and scattered all around the goddamn school and Yuta got hospitalized instead of Johnny.”

Taeil sighs and throws his hands up in defeat. “Okay, so _maybe_ we might have a bit of a drinking problem.”

“ _They_ have a drinking problem. _We_ just deal with it,” Taeyong corrects. “And now Mark’s joined them too.”

Taeil opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it, and turns back to cleaning the shoe in his hands. An upset Taeyong is a bitchy Taeyong, and there’s not enough patience in the world for Taeil to deal with that.

They work in silence after that, just scrubbing and brushing and scrubbing some more. Taeil hangs the shoelaces on the doorknob to dry and helps Taeyong rinse off the suds from one of the shoes.

“Jaehyun’s very lucky, you know.”

Taeyong barely lifts his head as he continues to rinse off the shoe in his hand. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, he’s lucky to have a friend as caring as you,” Taeil says, setting the cleaned shoe on the counter. “You didn’t have to do this, you know. They’re old shoes.”

“Yeah, but Jae loves these shoes,” Taeyong murmurs, remembering all the times he’s seen Jaehyun wearing this exact pair of Vans. Though to be fair, he’s never seen Jaehyun with anything else, except maybe the occasional sandals or dress shoes. “And I mean, I’m his friend. It’s the least I can do.”

“You love him, though.”

“Well, isn’t that the worst-kept secret on campus?” Taeyong replies sarcastically. He sets the other cleaned shoe on the counter next to its twin and dries off his hands. “Jae knows that too. I didn’t even need to confess for him to reject me.”

Taeil sighs. “I’m sorry about that.”

Taeyong keeps his head down as he says, “Don’t be sorry. If I’m not Jae’s type, then oh well.” 

“He still cares about you a lot, you know.”

“I know. It’s honestly ancient history now. We’re cool.”

“Whatever floats your boat.”

His boat has sunk before it even left the dock, but Taeyong keeps that thought to himself as he plugs in his blow-dryer. They spend the next twenty minutes blow-drying the shoes, taking turns holding the dryer every five minutes. In the end, the shoes are still a little damp, but Taeyong decides that it’s nothing a little exposure to air couldn’t fix, and they go back up to his dorm together.

Taeyong writes Jaehyun a note and places it on top of his cleaned shoes.

_Jae,_

_You probably don’t remember anything that happened last night. But Taeil and I cleaned your shoes for you. Don’t wear them yet, they need to dry properly._

Jaehyun is still in bed, snoring away when Taeyong enters his room to check on him. Mark is also dead to the world, lying sprawled out on his bed, with a trash bin by his nightstand and several bottles of water by his alarm clock.

Sometimes Taeyong seriously wonders if it’s even worth trying to warn them against alcohol anymore. It’s not like any of them ever listens to him, anyways. 

He slides the shoes next to the bed where Jaehyun always keeps them, and stands watching Jaehyun’s peaceful sleeping face for a few moments.

Then, he picks up the note he wrote, borrows a pen off Jaehyun’s desk, and adds another few lines.

_Jae,_

_You probably don’t remember anything that happened last night. But Taeil and I cleaned your shoes for you. Don’t wear them yet, they need to dry properly._

_Also, next time I clean after you, you’ll owe me $10._

_Don’t ever go drinking on me again._

_—Taeyong_

* * *

When Taeyong sees Jaehyun again, it’s in the early afternoon, when the latter is hunched over the toilet throwing up whatever’s left in his stomach.

“You okay?” Taeyong asks, even though Jaehyun is clearly NOT VERY FUCKING OKAY. The smell is atrocious, but Taeyong’s a nursing major and he’s seen much, much worse during his clinicals. He rubs the younger’s back and hands him a bottle of water after Jaehyun looks thoroughly emptied out.

“Thanks,” Jaehyun croaks, taking the bottle and chugging down the water. “God, I feel like crap.”

“You look like it too,” Taeyong says lightly, feeling relief as Jaehyun flashes him a small smile.

“How bad was I last night?”

“Bad?” Taeyong throws his head back and laughs scornfully. “Dude, you were fucking GONE.”

“Oh god.” Jaehyun groans and hangs his head over the toilet. “Did I do or say anything stupid?”

“Where should I start?” Taeyong teases, and grins when Jaehyun whines. “No, seriously. You were a dumbass. But nothing really happened.”

“Okay, good.” Jaehyun straightens himself up and flushes the toilet. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“No problem.” Taeyong sticks his hand out. “Also, that’ll be ten dollars.”

Jaehyun stares at his hand. “For what?”

“I warned you with a note already. I dealt with your drunk ass last night after you promised me you wouldn’t go nuts, and now I just helped you with your nausea.” Taeyong looks at Jaehyun expectantly. “I want my ten dollars.”

If anyone asks, Jaehyun stops drinking because he realizes that hangovers are a bitch.

And it has absolutely, positively, a hundred percent NOTHING to do with the fact that Taeyong is making money off his broke ass every time he gets anything even remotely past tipsy.

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually based on a true story. (>x<) I've honestly lost count of the number of times I've seen people at my uni in various stages of intoxication, so y'all—ALWAYS DRINK RESPONSIBLY!!! And please help a fellow brother/sister/colleague out if this ever happens to you! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!! :)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Cydersyrup)  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/Cydersyrup)


End file.
